Conjoined Twins Die at Odisha’s MKCG Medical College
Newborns with two heads and a single body shared a heart; doctors faced complex treatment challenges
Conjoined twins born at the government-run Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati (MKCG) Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur, Odisha’s Ganjam district, reportedly died on Sunday after battling multiple medical complications since their birth on October 1.
The male babies were born to a 22-year-old woman from Gumma Gram Panchayat under Tumudibandh block in Kandhamal district. The rare congenital condition left them with two heads and a single body, presenting doctors with formidable challenges in providing treatment.
According to medical details reported earlier, the newborns had two spinal columns but shared vital organs, including a single heart and liver. They also had a single pair of arms and legs and a common genitourinary tract. Doctors had additionally identified the absence of an anal opening and respiratory complications.
The babies, weighing 2.25 kg at birth, had been admitted to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where a multidisciplinary team of specialists was monitoring their condition.
Doctors had identified the condition as dicephalic parapagus, a rare form of conjoined twinning in which two heads and necks are attached to a single trunk. The shared heart and other complex anatomical abnormalities made surgical separation particularly challenging.
The babies were reportedly too critically ill to be transferred to another hospital for specialised treatment. The possibility of separation surgery was also severely limited by the extent of organ sharing and the risks associated with such a complex procedure.
The case had drawn comparisons with Jaga and Balia, the conjoined twins from Milipada village in Kandhamal district, who were born joined at the head on April 9, 2015. They underwent a landmark separation operation at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, in October 2017. Balia died of septicaemia in November 2020, while Jaga survived.
The parents’ reaction could not be obtained at the time of reporting.